Exchange traded funds can be traded like stocks but they can track any index or type of financial assets. They can track commodities or a basket of stocks or bonds. There are several groups trying to create cryptocurrency ETFs.

There is $5 trillion of money currently in ETFs. This is growing at 10 to 20% every year. The prediction is there will be $5.5 trillion in ETFs by the end of this year and $7.5 trillion in 2020. There is hundreds of billions in new investment being made every year into ETFs.

Convenience and removing barriers to investment with Cryptocurrency ETFs

Cryptocurrencies, tokens and cryptoassets are currently a pain in the butt to invest and trade. There are many extra steps to setup accounts and there are extra steps to keep accounts secure.

Cryptocurrency ETFs would not need those extra steps. They could be used to achieve one-click investing that is as easy as trading other stocks.

The expectation is that eventually various cryptocurrency ETFs will be approved. Companies like Vanguard and Fidelity will then allow their clients to buy those cryptocurrency ETFs. Cryptocurrency and cryptoassets then could be traded like other stocks. More people would be willing to trade them when it is as easy as clicking a button in their online portfolio.

Gold and penny stocks have significant markets. Cryptoassets would then capture some amount of those markets.

There is a belief that there is pent up demand for cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets which are being kept away by the various difficulties in getting in and out of crypto investments.

Predictions if Bitcoin ETFs are approved

Arthur Hayes, CEO of Bitmex, has repeatedly predicted that there will be an approval of a Bitcoin ETF and this will be the catalyst for Bitcoin prices to surge to over $50,000 by the end of 2018. Hayes is predicting that Bitcoin is and will fall and test $5,000 before a predicted run up.

There are others who have made similar predictions of some level of large run-up in cryptocurrency prices when cryptocurrency ETFs are approved.